Burke’s immigration plans are solid, but they’re not the antidote to Hansonism that Labor needs

September 17, 2026 — 5:30pm

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Tony Burke faced a nearly impossible task when he belatedly stepped up to address the National Press Club on Thursday: sound as tough as Pauline Hanson on immigration and as focused as Angus Taylor on letting the “right” migrants into this country, while reassuring Labor supporters that he wasn’t taking a nativist turn.

The home affairs minister’s speech was designed to reframe the immigration debate, which has been hijacked by Hanson and her party (to the point where a plurality of voters think One Nation is best placed to manage the migration system) and attempt to take back control of the narrative.

He just about threaded the needle with his speech, balancing the demands of voters with the needs of the economy and of business by scaling back the number of backpackers staying for two or even three years and prioritising construction and healthcare workers for visa approvals. But it is not the antidote to Hansonism that Labor desperately needs.

We know, already, that this package of measures was not what Burke had initially intended. The minister’s speech was supposed to be delivered six weeks ago but was knocked back by the expenditure review committee of cabinet, on orders from the prime minister’s office, for going too far in terms of reducing Australia’s annual refugee intake and visa-hopping by people who wished to remain in Australia.

Unusually, Burke referred repeatedly to having wanted to do more. He was, he said, unable to do so because the government could not strike a deal with the opposition on changes that would need legislation. Rather than whacking the Coalition for being intransigent, he left open the prospect of striking a deal down the track to........

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